Poland and Romania report ‘life-threatening action’ by Russian warplane over Black Sea | Abroad

The Polish plane was in the air on a mission for the European border agency Frontex, which guards the external borders of the European Union, and was under the command of Romania.

Over the Black Sea, the aircraft was intercepted by a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet. According to the Poles, the Russian jet made “aggressive and dangerous maneuvers” without first making radio contact. The Russian aircraft is said to have flown just 5 meters in front of the Polish aircraft at one point.

“A plane belonging to the Polish border guards, which was on a routine patrol in cooperation with Bucharest, was the victim of repeated dangerous maneuvers by an irresponsible Russian pilot,” Romania’s defense ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

In the statement of the Polish border guard that was distributed today / Sunday, it can be read that the pilot of the Polish aircraft temporarily lost control of the aircraft as a result.

The Polish crew finally managed to land the aircraft safely in Romania “after an initial loss of altitude and then severe control difficulties due to turbulence”. The Romanians call the incident “new proof of Russia’s provocative approach in the Black Sea”.

In March, a US drone and a Russian plane collided over the Black Sea. The drone crashed. The countries blame each other for this.

According to the US military, there is “a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with US and allied aircraft over international airspace”. These are “dangerous and can lead to miscalculation and unintentional escalation”.